On the other hand, recruiters complain that job seekers are not quite able to project their capabilities through their resumes, resulting in many competitive candidates’ resumes landing in the virtual trash. A resume is your marketing communication and it presents you to your prospective employer for the first time. Here are 5 handy tips to create the perfect resume for your perfect job.
1. Attach a cover letter
This is probably the most important, but underrated, aspect of resume writing. Research claims that attaching a cover letter with your resume increases your chance of getting noticed by your recruiters. You could begin the letter by writing “Thank you for your consideration…” and provide a personalized summary of your experience and abilities. You can then briefly talk about your strengths and why you think you are most suited to take on the role. Ensure that your vocabulary exudes confidence, a sign that you will get the job done.
2. Make the resume visually appealing
Recruiters make their first impression about you through your resume. It is imperative that you make your resume look appealing by making it symmetrical, balanced, and appropriately spaced. Use capital letters, boldface, bullets, underlining, and italics wherever required to highlight your achievements and experience. Include an objective section, summary, work history, training, and references. For this, you need a good resume templates. Consider making clean sections and a few subsections to effectively make your resume stand out. Bring uniformity and consistency and review your resume numerous times to maintain zero typographical, grammatical, or punctuational errors.
3. Ensure that your resume has all the necessary information in a chronological order
Your resume must have the following key information: your name, residential address, contact numbers, and email at the top of the first page, a list of the jobs held in reverse chronological order —including your designation, the name of the enterprise, the city, and the number of years you spent working with them. Mention the details of your educational degrees with the highest degree first. Add a simple summary statement carrying your profession so that your recruiters do not have to go through the complete resume to acquire an understanding of who you are and what are your professional goals.
4. Highlight your strengths and de-emphasize weaknesses
Lay emphasis on your strengths and your most impressive skills. Use power words and keywords to appear confident and professional. Words such as experience, management, project, development, business, skill, professional, knowledge, team, and leadership tend to instill more confidence in your abilities. Refrain from using words such as me, myself, need, chance, develop, learning, and hard. Add clear and strong statements of accomplishments and quantify them wherever possible.
5. Make it concise and focused
It is believed that a perfect resume should be of a single page only, and that resumes of 1000 words were considered most competitive. However, if you can create a three-page competitive resume which will maintain your recruiter’s undivided attention, go ahead! Do what works. Keep your sentences as short and to the point as possible. Refrain from using numerous examples when one can suffice. Refrain from adding unnecessary details. You can consult with your peers from your profession and decide on the length of your resume. Lastly, believe in your powers and aspirations. Your confidence in your abilities will automatically exude in your resume and your passion to pursue a greater future will leave a lingering impression on your recruiter’s mind. Featured photo credit: VIKTOR HANACEK via picjumbo.com
